


Scooby Doo and the Cyber Sleuth

by ValidEclipse



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Growing Up, Introspection, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29482689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValidEclipse/pseuds/ValidEclipse
Summary: After graduation night at Crystal Cove high school, it seems like Mystery Incorporated is going to drift apart. They all knew it was going to happen at some point, but perhaps they thought solving mysteries together could push away the thoughts and make that not the case. But then, there it is looking them right in the face. Before all of them go to chase the rest of their lives in college, careers, trade schools, Mystery Incorporated has one more summer to solve one more mystery together, before retiring the Mystery Machine.Aiba Takumi is a man on a short timeframe, existing as a digital body while his physical body is in the hospital, suffering from Eden Syndrome. Working with Kyoko to solve the mystery of Eden, Kamishiro and the Digimon and Royal Knights, Takumi works to restore his body when these two journeys collide
Relationships: Daphne Blake/Aiba Takumi, Date Makiko/Fred Jones, Other relationships tagged later, Shiramine Nokia/Velma Dinkley, Velma Dinkley/Norville "Shaggy" Rogers
Kudos: 4





	1. For the times they are a'changing

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is mostly a crack idea, but I wanted to try and take it as seriously as possible as I love both the Scooby-Doo series and the Cyber Sleuth video game. A few things of note-
> 
> Aiba Takumi will be given a new personality for this fic, as in Cyber Sleuth he doesn't have too much of one, Nokia even comments on how poorly developed they are, and so I have written Takumi with the personality that will work best for a fic like this. 
> 
> I'm not quite sure which series in Scooby-Doo this would take place in, hence why I tagged it with all media types. Some elements will be taken from the various series and I will try to weave it together into something coherent.

Quinlan stops briefly for a sip of water and then sets it down on the podium. She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and then smiles. " And last, but certainly not least, Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers!" She announces 

The young man began to make his way down the stage, waving to his friends and family in the crowd. In the front row is his loyal companion, Scooby-Doo howling out 'Raggy' to cheer for him. The members of Mystery Incorporated sit in the front row, waving and cheering. Once Shaggy makes it down to Quinlan, he shakes her hand and accepts his diploma. " Congratulations," Quinlan says, stopping for the yearbook staff to take a picture with Shaggy and his diploma. 

" Like, thanks!" Shaggy says, and he makes his way down the stage and to the row of seats the others are in, happily accepting the group hug from them all. " Like, we did it Scooby-Doo!" Shaggy says with a smile as he pets the dog happily. 

" Yeah, we did Raggy!" Scooby-Doo barks happily, and then the gang turns their attention back to the stage. 

" And with that, this year's senior class of Crystal Cove High School has graduated. We wish you luck in all of your future endeavors," Quinlan says, wiping a proud tear. " Please stand up."

" Ooh, this is always my favorite part," Daphne says giddily as she and the gang all stand up. She's seen it time and time again for all of her sisters, and now it's finally her turn. 

" Throw the cap high into the air!" Quinlan announces, and then she ducks behind the podium as a few stray ones make their way onto the stage, careful especially of caps like Velma's decorated with pins and awards for her academic success. Once the coast is clear, Quinlan rises back to her feet and clears her throat. " Good night and good luck!" 

With that, the ushers open the door and the seniors rush out. Fred chuckles. " You know, all the times we've had to run from a monster, and I don't think I've ever seen someone run that fast."

" Except for Shaggy and Scooby when a Scooby Snack is involved," Velma teases lightly with a chuckle. " Come on gang, our parents are gonna want pictures."

" Right! And then to my house for the after-party!" Daphne claps her hands together happily as they begin making their way to the parking lot where all of their parents are waiting for them. 

It takes a little while for all of their parents to be done with the pictures, tonight is the big night, after all, the most important of their kids lives so far. Once all of the pictures are taken, all of their phones start to go off as everyone sends the pictures to each other as they climb into the Mystery Machine. They really are creatures of habit, Fred driving, Daphne in shotgun, Velma in the back, and Shaggy and Scooby in the very back of the van. 

" Like, Freddy? What is that?" Shaggy asks curiously as he points to a piece of paper on the dashboard, which Fred is quick to stuff into the glove box. 

" Don't worry about it right now!" Fred says with a smile, trying to ignore the odd ache in his chest. There will be time to have those conversations later, but for now, tonight should be happy. 

Soon, they arrive outside of Daphne's house. For a few moments, they sit in comfortable silence, taking it all in. How many times have they been here now, after solving some mystery or another, or some party or just to relax? None of them want to be the first to say it, but it's in the back of all their minds. Other than Daphne, is this the last time any of them will be here for a long time?

Shaggy is the first to say:" I'm starving! Let's head on in!" As Scooby barks in agreement, the others chuckle and then begin to make their way out of the Mystery Machine. 

Fred lingers for a little longer, putting his hand gently on the van and breathing a sigh. He thinks the others are heading inside, but he's jolted out of his thoughts when he hears: " Fred? Everything alright?" And he looks over his shoulder to see Daphne. 

" Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just got up in my thoughts for a little bit," Fred says with a slight chuckle. 

" You know you can talk to us about it right?" Daphne offers sweetly. 

" Do you think I can wait to tell you and all of the others at once?" Fred asks. " You all should know about this I think."

" Of course Fred. Now come on! We don't want to keep them all waiting," Daphne says with a smile as Fred nods, and then the two of them walk into the house together. 

Once they're inside, it feels like business as usual: The mayor giving Fred reluctant praise, Daphne's mother not even giving that much, Velma keeping to herself for the most part, for once without a textbook or mystery to bury herself in, and Shaggy and Scooby indulging themselves. Somehow though, in a way not all of them know how to explain, it feels different. 

" Well I'm stuffed!" Shaggy announces. He looks outside and sees that it's the dead of night. " Like, we should get going back to our homes right? This was an awesome party!"

" Not yet, "Daphne shakes her head. She glances over to Fred who nods. " Fred has something he said he wants to tell all of us."

" About that paper?" Velma wonders as she tilts her head curiously. 

" Yeah, uh it was an offer from the car dealership," Fred says. Before he can explain he finds his voice catching in his throat. "I was thinking that since we're all splitting up that maybe, I dunno I would have to trade the Mystery Machine in for something else. Daphne is applying for a job on TV, and I wanted to be a cameraman, but at the same time, the van isn't gas-friendly, I only had it because it could drive us all."

" Oh," Velma says, going silent. " I see. Well it does make sense. Still, it'll feel weird to not see you in it."

" And to not see you," Shaggy says, and then he gulps when the others glance over to him. " Not see you every day I mean!" He adds quickly. 

" Yeah, yeah I guess it will be." Fred sips on his drink, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat. 

A silence hangs over the group. All night there had been this thought in the back of their minds, and none of them knew what it was, but they tried not to think it, tried not to feel it, and so when it was forced out into the open it was stronger, more painful than it would have been. 

" It's too bad the last mystery we solved in it turned out to be a total dud," Daphne said softly. 

This seems to perk Fred up. " Daphne, you just gave me a great idea!" Fred exclaims. 

" I did?" Daphne asks with a smile 

" Yeah! Our TV contract isn't for a few more months right?" Fred asked 

" No. We can probably spend the summer in Crystal Cove." Daphne confirms. 

" And Velma? When do you have to go off to college?" Fred turns to her 

" I'm doing an early start program, so I don't have the entire summer here, but I know I have the first half at least," Velma nods. 

" Shaggy? Scooby?" Fred asks, his signature excitement back in his voice. " What about you two?"

" Like, we have til the end of the summer too!" Shaggy declares as Scooby barks in agreement. 

" Great! Gang, we can't let Mystery Incorporated's last mystery be that dud!" Fred says, putting his hand out. " What do you say we spend the summer completing one last mystery together? A perfect one to retire the Mystery Machine on?"

" I'm in!" Daphne says with a smile, putting her hand over Fred's. One by one all of the others join in, their hands on top of each other, and Scooby's paw on top of them all. 

" Let's meet back here tomorrow!" Daphne says. " We'll pick out the perfect mystery together!"


	2. Out on a high note

" Alright, gang! We've figured out we have at least a few more months to do one more mystery together. It's July, and we have to be done by September for Velma to go off to college," Fred says as the Mystery Machine once more ends up in front of the Crystal Cove Spook Museum. 

" Reah! Ret's read on in," Scooby barks as the doors open and everyone begins to hop out. 

Once everyone was inside, they make their way upstairs into one of the rooms which has the books laid out for them already. " I went ahead and called my mom and dad to have this all set aside for us," Velma said. " Sorry everyone, but I can't spend hours in here picking on out. I have to call the college to make sure my housing is taken care of. So if I have to go, feel free to pick one out without me."

" We understand," Daphne smiled and she chuckled. " I mean, we're not high school students anymore. We all have our own things to work on. We'll be sure to pick a good one if you have to leave."

" Like, let's get to work guys!" Shaggy says as he walks in and flops on one of the museum chairs in front of a stack of books. 

" Shaggy's right! No use dwelling on all of that other stuff for now," Fred smiles as he takes a seat. " If you see a mystery that hasn't been solved yet and you want us to take, let us know, and we can vote on it for a group!"

For the most part, all of them work in silence. Every so often, one of them will open their mouths when they get to a mystery and then close them. Any other time, it would have been okay to suggest one of the lesser mysteries, just to have something to do or because it had come up. For their last mystery though, nothing they could find in a book seemed good enough. 

" I'm all tapped out," Velma says eventually as she sighs. " We can't just chase down another bigfoot sighting or something that will just turn out to be a man in a costume, or the Mandela effect, people thought they saw something and it turned out they didn't.

" Yeah, I can't waste my newest idea for a trap on something like this!" Fred says gesturing to a cyclops sighting in one of the books. " I've spent so long removing masks from criminals I can tell this one from a mile away."

" I know right? We've solved so many by this point I feel like we could solve this one in an afternoon," Daphne says sighing as she puts her hands on her hip in thought. " I'll keep looking."

" Like, any other time I would have been happy to find a dud mystery, you know? Like, thank goodness the crab monster isn't real or something. But this time, it'd feel like a waste if it wasn't something great." Shaggy agrees 

Velma stands up and then smooths out her skirt. " Sorry gang. I've got to get going. If you find something though, shoot me a call. Hopefully, you can find something good. If not, it was a good idea, Fred." She says, waving to the others as she walks off. 

" Let's keep looking, gang!" Fred says, putting on a brave front as he dives nose deep into a book he's combed through at least three times by now, knowing that no new mystery is going to appear from it. 

" I'll look online and see if there's anything that we can find," Daphne adds as she takes out her phone. 

" Like, I dunno," Shaggy says, causing the two others to glance up at him. " It's just....if it's our last adventure together, would anything be good enough for something like that anyway?"

" Will you keep looking-" Daphne begins and then she looks around in her purse, finding the small baggy. It's almost empty now, she didn't think she would have to refill it after graduation. It's weird to her to almost be out of them. " For a scooby snack?"

" Reah! Raggy let's keep looking!" Scooby barks eagerly 

" Okay. Like, just for a little bit more," Shaggy says as he licks his lips and happily snatches the bag from Daphne. 

" Some things never change," Fred chuckles. 

" I guess I'll have to make one more batch for the trip," Daphne says as she uses her phone to look through mysteries. 

The four of them sit in silence for a little bit more. Eventually, Fred finds a mystery that, while far from great would at least be something to do and something to work on. " Gang I-"

" I've got one!" Daphne cuts him off. " It looks like a real mystery!" She cheers 

" Like, what is it?" Shaggy asks, stomach growling. " Scooby-Doo and I are gonna have to head out soon. We're hungry!"

" Reah! Rhat is it?" Scooby repeats 

" In Japan, there's this new chat room called Eden. It's super popular with the kids. Recently there's been an influx of hacking and attempts to get into the site. People are saying that if something happens to your avatar in the chatroom, then your body doesn't wake up in the real world. They're calling it Eden Syndrome," Daphne reads. 

" Like, I don't know." Shaggy shakes his head. " That seems like a movie plot, you know? Die in the game, die in real life."

" Maybe, but there's also more. One of the ways people are saying hackers get into Eden is with a program called Digimon. It's like hacking malware. But people are saying they've spotted the Digimon in the real world," Daphne says, turning her phone to show them a picture she's brought up of a small, bipedal dinosaur-like creature with red scales and yellow eyes. " Kamishiro Enterprises, who owns Eden hasn't said anything about it."

" Wow," Fred says, his interest piped. " It looks like a real monster! That's something good to use the trap on. What else is there Daphne?"

" People are saying that in Eden, there's also a ghost. They call him the Ghost of Eden, this pale white boy with gray eyes and white hair," Daphne says. " Wherever he shows up, a hacking attack follows, and then people come down with Eden Syndrome."

" G-ghost?" Shaggy asks as he and Scooby hold onto each other. " L-like g-gulp!" 

" This looks like a real mystery that we could solve together! Is there a way to get to Eden from America?" Fred asks

" No...Kamishiro has said they want to expand the Eden program, but right now it's only accessible from a Japanese server," Daphne says shaking her head. 

" So like, can we even solve it?" Shaggy wonders, still holding on tight to Scooby-Doo. 

" As much as I would love to, we do only have a few months," Fred sighed. 

" Well, there might be a way," Daphne says. " My parents set aside a lot of money for me to go to college with. But when I went into TV, they said the money was mine to use for what I wanted. And maybe we can use it for this, I can get us a cruise boat that they'll let us load the Mystery Machine onto, and pay for a few weeks in Japan to solve everything, and then come back."

" Like, Daphne are you sure? That's your money," Shaggy says. 

" I know it is, but I can't think of something else to use my money for, other than one great mystery with my friends!" Daphne says. " So what do you think? Are you in?"

" I'm in!" Fred says. " How soon can we leave?"

" I can be ready by tomorrow." Daphne smiles. " It'll be a late-night getting everything ready, but this is exciting."

" Yeah, it is!" Shaggy called Velma. " Like, Velma! We found a case with real monsters and real ghosts! Can you come to Japan with us? Like, you can! Awesome!" He says, ending the call. " Velma is in!"

" And I can be done by tomorrow also." Fred smiled. " Gang, let's split up and go to our homes to get packed. Tomorrow, the greatest mystery of our life begins!"


	3. The little time we have left

" How'd it go?" Kyoko wonders as she begins to blend her coffee, glancing up from her desk and some paperwork to the board where her assistant was filing away the completion of the case. The blond detective shuffles around in her desk and then takes out some mayo and starts to add it to her coffee. " And would you like to try and find a new special blend I've been working on? It's with some mayo."

Aiba sighs and runs a hand through his hair. " It was fine. I found the lost property for the Renamon. It was in Kowloon, but I can't help but feel it was a waste of time. I mean, we're no closer to figuring out everything with Kamishiro. Oh, and uh, no thanks on the coffee."

" Suit yourself." Kyoko takes a sip of the coffee and lets out a content sigh. " I'm quite satisfied with how the blend turned out. Do me a favor and the next time you go to see Mirei bring her some to try please."

" Yeah sure." Aiba shrugs and then he glances back to the board. 

" Looking for another case already? You'll run yourself ragged if you keep going on them back to back. Taking the time to rest wouldn't be such a bad thing," Kyoko suggests. 

" I don't have the time to rest," Aiba shakes his head. " We don't know how much longer my body has. It's like you said when we met, there are no guarantees."

Kyoko shrugs. " True enough. A body held together by data could be quite volatile. But at the same time, it's like you said we're not getting any closer. It would make me a poor detective if I told you to rest and slack off, but it's also foolish to use too much of your body's abilities on property finding."

" I just wish we knew where to look. Saying we're looking for a needle in a haystack doesn't even do it justice." Aiba sighs. " It all seems so big and each mystery we solve just brings another. We figure out that a Digital Shift brings along an Eater. But then we have to wonder what causes the Digital Shift, and then we have to figure out what an Eater is anyways, and what it's after."

Kyoko stands up and walks over, smoothing out her shirt and placing a gentle hand on Aiba's shoulder. " I understand your frustration. It's like that for all detectives most of the time, mysteries connecting to each other. But you're on a time limit. I'm sorry but I can't give you anything other than the general theme that we have to keep working, and that's all there is to be done."

Aiba manages a smile. " And I know that. I'm just glad I've had so much help along the way. Nokia said she's going to try to put together this rebel group to figure out what Kamishiro is up to and protect the Digimon in Eden. She said one of the first things they want to do is try to figure out how to reverse Eden Syndrome."

" She's a charming young lady," Kyoko chuckles. " I just hope she doesn't get herself into trouble. Speaking of Digital Shift, I have a hunch that I've been working on. I just need a little more time to look into it. In the meantime, keep doing what you can. Shake enough trees and eventually, the fruit will fall from it as they say."

Aiba chuckles. " I know it doesn't always seem like it, but I am grateful. It feels good to help Digimon when I can or the people. And it's something to do other than despair about the fact that my body is breaking down."

" Well, I'm glad," Kyoko says nodding with a smile. " Having an assistant around here has certainly made things much easier for me, and you liven up the place. Besides, who else would try my coffee blends if not for you?"

This makes Aiba gulp at the thought of some of the blends he's had to try for her. " Uh right. All of these cases seem a little similar to each other. Lost items and the like. Do you have anything special you want me to work into?"

" Actually, I do," Kyoko says as she begins to rifle around in her desk, taking out a folder. " I was meaning to tell you about it when you came in, it must have slipped my mind."

" What is it?" Aiba asks as he goes behind the desk with Kyoko to glance over her shoulder and at the folder. 

" Shibuya residents have been reporting random burn marks across the city. It looks like someone set off a firework or something, but there's never any sound, and when the authorities have looked around, they can't find anything that could have caused it. No one has been hurt yet, but some have reported they've felt an unexplainable presence watching them, their instincts told them to get out of the way, and when they did there was one of the burn marks on the ground," Kyoko explains as she hands some pictures up to Aiba. 

Aiba idly took the photos and thumbed through them. " I see. Do you think it could be a Digimon?"

" Bingo." Kyoko nods. " The odd thing though is that it hasn't been spotted in Shibuya. Otherwise, we would have gotten called by Matayoshi. We have an agreement after all, that he'll bring it to our attention if there's a Digimon in the city. We don't want anyone else getting hurt trying to deal with it."

Aiba thinks, biting his lip idly. " I wonder then if it could be something where it comes in and out of the network, striking once and then vanishing." 

" I'm thinking the same thing. A while ago, the Japanese military tried to look into digitally fought warfare. The experiment was scrapped mostly, but it was based out of Shibuya. It's possible a network exists there still. It's hard to shut down a digital space entirely. Once something is on the internet, it tends to be there to stay." Kyoko says. 

" And whatever's doing this could be a Digimon then. A program from that experiment that never got the memo the war never happened." Aiba offered as a possibility 

" I thought you'd think so. More than that, I thought looking into it might do us some good. After all, do you know who wanted to be the provider of this service? Kamishiro," Kyoko says. 

" I see," Aiba says. " It seems like they cause trouble wherever they go. Now if it is in a digital network, then how would I get in?"

" Well, that's simple enough. Your timing needs to be perfect though. Go out to Shibuya, and once a blast hits you, you'll need to, at just the right moment use your ability to turn into data. The blast will have held up a portal into the digital network to travel out of it, and so quickly travel into it," Kyoko explains. 

" And if I mess up the timing?" Aiba asks with a slight chuckle. 

" I'll be sure to reconfigure your data somehow," Kyoko assures him. 

" Right, well I'm on it." Aiba chuckles as he begins to head out of the office


	4. Cruising for a mystery

" Like, does it get any better than this Scooby-Doo?" Shaggy opens his mouth wide, wide enough that everyone, even the people who have known him for years wonder how he can unhinge his jaw that much, and he begins to shovel food into his mouth. 

Scooby shakes his head back and forth rapidly as he also seems to unhinge his jaw to be able to swallow the contents of a plate with food stacked to the very roof. " I rhon't rhink rho Rhaggy!" 

" This is really nice. We can't thank you enough for taking this cruise out with us." Velma says with a smile as she sits down on one of the tables, sipping on a tea as she watches the waves. 

" Of course! Like I told the others, there's nothing else I would rather have used this money on." Daphne says as she stretches. " I hope the water on the ship is warm, I wanna go for a swim later."

" There's plenty to do on this ship!" Fred exclaims as he reads through the pamphlet. " They offer a course on how to tie knots! That review will go great when I have to come up with a trap for the monsters we find!"

" Like, that reminds me. What are we trying to solve here anyways? I mean, Daphne showed us the picture of the monster, but then there's the whole thing with Eden and the chatrooms," Shaggy finds the time to ask between large bites of food. 

" Good question. My older sister used to say if you chase two enemy soldiers, you'll lose them both," Daphne says, and the gang chuckles at the memory of Daphne's sister the first time she had returned from her combat tour. 

Velma tilts her head as she thinks and then the sound of her typing rapidly can be heard as she brings up her laptop. " You know, I watched an old crime show once, and they said something like 'The internet is expanding past the law's ability to keep up with it.' And that's true now. It's likely there's no law on the books for what to do about Eden Syndrome and Kamishiro keeping it hidden. I doubt we can do too much in that area." 

" Hmmm. Like, so I guess we should focus on the monsters right?" Shaggy asked. " Digimon are hacking programs from what Daphne told us the other day, but like they've been spotted in the real world."

" That's definitely what I was thinking," Velma nods in agreement. " But from what I can tell, it would be kind of unproductive to try and look too much into the Digimon. There's not much info out there about them, and we would be setting ourselves up for failure."

" What do you mean Velma? There's nothing that Mystery Incorporated hasn't been able to solve before!" Daphne declares happily. 

" Right, but we're dealing with a whole new ballpark here. Remember Que Horifico?" Velma asks, and the others nod, of course, they do. " She was just a girl who had big ideas about politics and wanted the adults out so she could try and do things her way. Once we figured it out, it was easy. But with these Digimon, there's so many of them we could never figure out what each of them wants."

" That's a good point," Fred places a hand to his chin. " And even if we capture one in a trap, then what? It's probably too new for the Japanese government to have come up with a policy that would help us help them, like turning them into the police or something."

" I dunno, I still want to look into Kamishiro," Daphne says, and the others look to her. " I know we might not be able to do anything, but hasn't that always been the case? I mean how many times did Sheriff Stone tell us to just stay out of things? Or the mayor?"

" Like, all the time! Every time they just said we were messing with the tourism the monster brought to the town!" Shaggy chuckles at the memory, and it's lucky for the gang they've learned to decipher him through mouthfuls of food. 

" Right! And we did it anyway! I don't know why you all did it, but for me, it was because I couldn't let it go people were in danger. And if people are in danger because of Kamishiro, I want to know why and I want to try and help. And wouldn't that be the best mystery to go out on? Getting to help save people." Daphne smiles. 

" Alright. Well if Digimon are a hacking program, then I suppose one of them might be able to tell us something about Kamishiro, and we might be able to use one to break into Kamishiro, and figure out a thing or two." Velma offers. 

" Alright! It's a start. The next question is where we would even start within that though. Maybe with what new trap we would use to capture a Digimon!" Fred declares. 

" Shibuya is our best bet I think. Recently there's been rumors of what people are calling a Digital Shift, this weird effect where time seems to stand still and Digimon come into the real world," Daphne says. " And it's only an hour or two away from where we're supposed to land anyways."

" Like, sounds good to us!" Shaggy says. 

The cruise lasts for a few more days before landing. Once in the Mystery Machine, Fred happily begins to drive, careful to stay to the left side of the road. " Alright gang, Daphne got us a hotel in Shibuya. Let's check-in there first before we look for clues."

Daphe chuckles as Scooby latches onto Shaggy and begins to whimper. " Yes, Scooby. After that business with the gator town, I made sure that it would let us have a pet in the room."

" Like, good thinking Daphne!" Shaggy says, breathing a sigh of relief as he holds Scooby close. " That was a scary time."

" Japan sure is wonderful." Velma smiles as she looks around. " Fred, stop! Do you see that?" She cries eventually 

Fred slams on the brakes, forcing the Mystery Machine to come to a halt, and his eyes widen when he sees someone standing in the middle of the road. " What's he doing?" 

In the middle of the road stands a young man with red hair, wearing a black shirt and khaki pants, and fingerless gloves. Standing next to him is one of the Digimon they've been told about, a small and red creature, dragon-like in nature, holding what seems to be a microphone in hand and wearing headphones. " You ready for this Shoutmon?" The man asks. 

" Yep! Just remember what Kyoko said, mess this up and it won't be good!" Shoutmon says. 

" Like, that's one of those Digimon!" Shaggy points. " And he's with a human! Let's see if they can help us with anything."

Before Fred can get out of the car, he ducks when he hears what sounds like gunfire. Daphne doesn't duck in time though, but she watches as what seems to be a laser makes its way for the young man. " Look out!" She cries in horror 

" Now!" Shoutmon says, hopping up on the boy's shoulder. 

He holds out his hand and the laser touches it. Rather than sear right through him, both the laser and the boy break down into what seems to be data, and Daphne watches as the data flies into the distance, and into one of the electronic billboards of Shibuya. 

" What was that?" Fred asks as he sits back up. 

" I don't know! But it seemed like he had a Digimon, and he turned himself into data to pursue whatever fired that off." Velma thinks. " He might be our best chance to solve the mystery."

" Gang! Let's set a trap for when he returns!" Fred declares as they all scramble out of the Mystery Machine.


	5. The things we're made for

Aiba blinks a little in surprise when he finds himself in the network, though he does let out a sigh of relief when he inspects his hand to see if there's a hole in it from a laser, he seems to all be in one piece. Aiba glances around, like always being in a Digital Network is always disorienting to him. There are so many colors, usually red and blues, and occasionally some white. For the most part, it's empty, though he can sense some presences, Digimon scattered across the network which will attack him if he's not careful. Being a digital lifeform like he is as disorienting as it was. Aiba could eat, but it didn't taste like anything, or when he walked he didn't feel the ground beneath him. In all but name, it was like being a ghost. Being in a Digital Network was doubly that feeling. Other than a slight electrical humming, it was silent, and there was no ground to even stand on. Aiba could simply pick a direction and force his body to move, data being carried along by more data, like water in the ocean. 

Before Aiba can think about that for too long, his phone goes off and he answers it. " Hello?"

" Glad to hear from you. I'm hoping you're still in one piece," Kyoko wonders. 

" Yeah, you were right. When the blast was fired I was able to use it to get myself into the Digital Network. I'm looking for whatever Digimon is taking shots at people now," Aiba confirms for her. 

Kyoko breathes a small sigh of relief " Good. I was positive I could reconfigure you if things go wrong, but I was always positive it would work."

" Right, well I'll get back to you." Aiba ends the call and then begins to move around the Digital Network, idly trying to mark and remember the places he had been before, it was so easy to get lost in these Digital Networks, nothing stood out anywhere about any of them. It was all just the internet, for the most part, it was all the same, though Aiba could be here for hours at a time, it's peaceful. 

On the other hand, Shoutmon isn't quite as a patient. " Ugh, we've been here forever! Come on, where is this Digimon?"

" Patience never hurt anyone," Aiba shakes his head. " We just have to keep looking."

Aiba truthfully has no idea how much time has passed in the Digital Network. Time flows differently, or it seems to anyways. Kyoko has a theory that it's because when you go into the internet, all timezones are operating it at a time, but nothing concrete. Either way, Aiba just floats around, and then his eyes narrow when he feels the Network seem to rumble. 

" He's getting ready to take another shot!" Shoutmon exclaims. " Boss the network we're in exists because he took a shot if he fires again and we don't stop him then we're going to get kicked out, right?!"

" Dunno, but let's not take that chance." Aiba agrees, speeding up to the center of the Network where the rumbling seems to have started from. " Bingo," He says to himself when he sees the Digimon in the center, a small tank-like creature. It has three-cannons, one for a head with eyes on the side of it, and two more for hands. Energy is gathering in all of them and Aiba quickly floats in front of him. 

" What the-?!" The creature asks. " Where did you come from?"

" Are you the one who's been firing at Shibuya?" Aiba asks, ignoring the question. 

" Yeah, and what of it? It's what I was designed to do!" The creature says defensively. " Move out of the way!"

" You can't just fire on people! People who have nothing to do with what happened to you are going to get hurt!" Shoutmon cries passionately. " If you come with us, we can figure out another way."

" I'm a Tankmon! I was built for war, and then discarded! There's nothing for me other than this!" Tankmon protests. " I'm going to take the shot."

" I can't let you do that," Aiba shakes his head. " Shoutmon!"

" Right boss!" Shoutmon says as he leaps in the air and spins around his microphone which extends out. 

" No!" Tankmon says, going to fire when Shoutmon hits his side with the microphone and puts his back into it. This sends the Tankmon onto his back, firing the shot up into the air of the Digital Network, dispersing harmlessly. 

" Got it," Aiba murmurs to himself as he thinks out loud. " As long as the shot stays in the Digital Network we can stay, but if it leaves we'll be kicked out."

" Whatever the case is, I got it from here!" Shoutmon says as he leaps between blasts from Tankmon and deflects them with the microphone to keep them in the Network. 

Eventually, Shoutmon manages to land a clean hit with the microphone onto the head of the Tankmon, watching as it fizzles into data. " Sorry," Shoutmon says softly. 

" We did what we had to right?" Aiba asks with a small smile. " Anyways the Network should collapse soon and kick us out."

" Right," Shoutmon sighs, and soon he watches as the world around them breaks down into pixels, and then they find themselves back in the real world. " What the-"

As soon as they touch down in the real world, Aiba feels a rope tighten around his leg, and through a pulley system, Aiba finds himself dangling from a street light, and a small cage falling on Shoutmon. 

" Alright gang!" A blonde man steps out from the bushes. " Let's start this mystery!"

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think in the comments!


End file.
